The relationship between Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection and asthma has rarely been explored through examination of airway reactivity. The aim of this study was to determine airway reactivity changes after MP infection in children. First, 106 children were divided into four groups according to the existence of MP infection and/or asthma. Then children with only MP belonged to the MP group;...

Airway hyper-reactivity is a characteristic feature of many inflammatory lung diseases and is defined as an exaggerated degree of airway narrowing. Chemokines and their receptors are involved in several pathological processes that are believed to contribute to airway hyper-responsiveness, including recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells, collagen deposition and airway wall remodeling....

OBJECTIVE To characterize the relation between bronchoalveolar and blood eosinophil numbers, serum total IgE concentration, and nonspecific airway reactivity in healthy dogs. ANIMALS 26 healthy Beagles. PROCEDURE Prior to measurement of nonspecific airway responsiveness, dogs were anesthetized and bronchoscopy was performed to recover bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Repeated measurement...

Patients presenting for elective anaesthesia and surgery may be suffering with, or recovering from, a recent upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). It is a frequent clinical problem as to whether to postpone surgery in such patients as they may be more likely to suffer adverse respiratory events related to administration of general anaesthesia. Using dilute ammonia vapour as a chemical stimu...

Childhood asthma is often characterised by elevated exhaled nitric oxide (eNO), decreased lung function, increased airway reactivity and atopy; however, our understanding of when these phenotypic airway characteristics develop remains unclear. This study evaluated whether eNO, lung function, airway reactivity and immune characteristics during infancy are risk factors of asthma at age 5 years. I...

Salbutamol consists of a racemic mixture of R- and S-salbutamol. R-salbutamol (levalbuterol) is the active bronchodilating enantiomer, whereas S-salbutamol is thought to be pharmacologically inactive or to exert adverse effects. This study evaluated the bronchoprotective effects of inhalation of therapeutically relevant doses of the racemate and individual enantiomers in guinea pigs. It was fou...

The bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been associated with occupational airway diseases with asthma-like symptoms and in acute exacerbations of COPD. The direct and indirect effects of LPS on small airway reactivity have not been fully elucidated. We tested the hypothesis that both in vitro and in vivo LPS treatment would increase contraction and impair relaxation of mouse small...